


Everything Seems Possible with You

by aodhoceanus



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood is good with kids, Babysitting, Downworld Council (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Head of the Institute Alec Lightwood, M/M, Relationship Discussions, mlm author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 06:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13496372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aodhoceanus/pseuds/aodhoceanus
Summary: Magnus Bane never really thought that having children of his own would be an option—until the night he saw his boyfriend holding a stranger's baby in his arms.





	Everything Seems Possible with You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PerspectiveJewels](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerspectiveJewels/gifts).



> This story was originally posted on Tumblr as a gift for [Persy](http://immortal-lightwood.tumblr.com/).

It was just past nine o’clock on a Saturday night when Magnus let himself into the New York Institute, stamping the snow out of the treads of his boots on the mat by the door. He’d portalled in a few blocks away and used the brief walk that followed to clear his head, focusing on the crunch and squeak of the snow beneath his soles until the magic that had been itching to leap out of his fingertips calmed to its usual quiet hum. It had been a long day at work; he’d finished with his last client barely an hour earlier, and all their demands had left his skin feeling stretched and itchy. He hadn’t been _surprised_ to find Alec still absent when he’d finished tidying away his ancient books and potion ingredients; demons had no real regard for concepts like weekends, and running the Institute meant that Alec’s day didn’t end until all the most pressing matters had been dealt with. Still, as the imperious tone of his second-to-last customer echoed in the recesses of Magnus’s mind, he couldn’t help but think how _nice_ it would be to see Alexander after all this nonsense. So when his study was clean and the last ancient tome was tucked neatly back on its shelf, Magnus had decided to take matters into his own hands and pay Alec a surprise visit.

He made his way down the long corridor to Alec's office, unbuttoning his coat as he went, the heavy black wool swaying behind him as he unwound the maroon scarf from around his neck. He could see the soft yellow light spilling out from Alec's office as he drew near, the door open as usual so that people could come and go as needed. He could feel his heart lift a little at the thought of seeing him, his steps speeding up slightly the closer he got.

He was expecting to find Alec bent over his desk, pen in hand, eyes squinted slightly with the effort of focusing after so many long hours spent looking at reports. He was expecting to find him with tousled hair and tired eyes, to be greeted with a pleasantly surprised smile when Alec noticed his presence. What he wasn't expecting, what he never would have thought to imagine, was the baby held in Alec's left arm, its tiny head tucked against his shoulder, sleeping soundly.

Magnus froze on the threshold, his hand raised in the air, rings mere inches away from tapping against the wood. As if sensing his presence, Alec looked up, and a soft smile spread across his face.

"Hey," Alec murmured. He moved to greet him, and Magnus could see in his expression the exact moment when he remembered that he was holding an infant. He could see him adjust his weight carefully, so he wouldn't jostle the baby as he stood. The child, bless its heart, slept on.

Magnus took a step closer, and pressed a quick kiss to Alec's lips, being careful not to disturb the sleeping infant as he did. He could feel himself smiling slightly as he pulled back, the familiar warmth rising in his chest. He could see the sentiment echoed back to him in Alec's eyes—but then the baby shifted, one small hand clutching the fabric of Alec's shirt, and they both looked down at the little creature nestled against Alec's chest.

"Her mother's off on a mission,” Alec offered, when Magnus turned inquiringly to him. Something of what Magnus was thinking must’ve shown on his face, because before he could say anything Alec was adding, "I didn't want to send her, but she's been out of active duty for months and she was very insistent. I sent her out on a routine patrol with some of our best fighters."

Magnus nodded slowly. He might not like it, but he knew that Shadowhunters were Shadowhunters, and this was just one of those things they did. Their responsibilities didn’t suddenly end when they become parents. "So tell me, how did the Head of the New York Institute end up being her babysitter?"

Alec smiled. "Well she originally enlisted Izzy to babysit for her, but Izzy couldn't get this little one to stop crying."

"So Izzy brought her to you?"

"Yeah."

“So you’re the baby whisperer, hmm?”

Alec smiled a lopsided smile, his hazel eyes warm in the light of his office. “I guess so. I mean, I’m the eldest in our family, so I had two younger siblings to practice on.”

“I can’t imagine that Isabelle and Max would have been the _easiest_ children to care for.”

Alec shook his head, chuckling softly. “Mother says I was such a well-behaved child that for years she didn’t understand why people complained so much about parenting. And then Izzy and Max came along.”

Magnus laughed—but quietly, so as not to wake the baby. Alec smiled. Magnus could see the weariness in his eyes, and for a moment he couldn’t help but wonder how many hours he’d already spent stooped over his paperwork. Gently, he ran a hand over Alec’s arm and asked, “Have you eaten yet?”

“No, have you?”

Magus shook his head. “Not yet.”

“OK.” Looking down at his desk, Alec locked his tablet and slipped it into one of the drawers. His shoulders seemed lighter somehow when he turned back to face Magnus, touching his shoulder with his free hand. “Let’s go see if Althea’s back from patrol yet, and then you and I can see about getting some food.”

 

*

 

The best thing about winter, Magnus thought as he watched melted wax drip lethargically down one of the many candles and onto the smooth wooden surface of the table, was that they could start these council meetings much earlier than at any other time of year. Sure, sometimes he wished that the city could get a break from the bellow-freezing temperatures, but at least with the sun setting at 4:30 in the afternoon they could manage to hold a council meeting that would end before midnight. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated that they were already entering the third hour of this meeting and yet the end was nowhere in sight. Unfortunately for all of them, there seemed to be some sort of intra-community dispute taking place among the fey, and if the way Meliorn had been carefully talking _around_ the issue for the past half hour was any indication, it was no small matter.

“Thank you for the information,” Alec said, and Magnus could practically _feel_ his mind working to extract the pertinent details from all Meliorn’s allusions and obfuscations. When he spoke again, his words were careful, deliberate, couched in generalities so that Meliorn might give his opinion without endangering himself.

But before Alec could speak more than a handful of words, the meeting room door was pushed ajar and a young Shadowhunter came tearing in, headed straight for the grate. Magnus’s fingers twitched, magic springing to life, ready to intervene. He might not _know_ this child, but he looked alarmingly as though he might toddle straight into the fire, and that simply wouldn’t do. Magnus was a second away from weaving a bubble of protection around the child—but Alec was on his feet before he could move, scooping the child up in his arms and twirling him away from the fireplace without even faltering in his words. “Do the fey anticipate that the brewing tensions may result in any structural or personnel changes?”

“It would be unwise to speculate on what _might_ be,” Meliorn replied, “especially when my queen has ears everywhere.”

Alec was silent for a second, and in the stillness Magnus could sense him weighing his options. If they wanted to continue this discussion, it would be simple enough for Magnus to throw new wards up around them to keep out any listening ears. And yet…and yet Alec had a child in his arms, and Magnus suspected this child might very well absorb more information than any of them expected and blurt it out again at the most inopportune moment.

“Of course,” Alec said, nodding at Meliorn, and Magnus knew that they had come to the same conclusion. Addressing the delicate, potentially deadly politics of the Faeries could wait, for the time being.

The child in Alec’s arms began to fidget, and Alec frowned down at him, his attention pulled momentarily away from the council meeting. “How did you even get in here, Anis? We have guards at the door.”

The kid grinned up at him. “I’m good at sneaking.”

Luke chuckled, and the child’s head swiveled to look at him. His grin grew as he took in Luke’s amused expression, and his dark eyes seemed to light up as he looked around the table and found all the adults watching him. It was hard not to smile in the face of his childish delight. Even Raphael, Magnus thought, looked marginally less somber than usual.

“Anis,” Alec repeated to get the kid’s attention, “does your mother know where you are?”

Looking up at Alec, the kid just grinned even wider.

Alec sighed and glancing apologetically around at the other council members. “Excuse me just a moment.” He stepped out into the hallway, and Magnus could hear the murmur of voices as he conferred with Raj and the other guard—a recent transfer from Alicante whose name Magnus couldn’t remember.

He was back a moment later, with Anis toddling along behind him and looking _very_ pleased with himself. “You have to be quiet,” Alec said firmly, as he returned to his seat at the round table. “We have important business to attend to.”

“I know,” Anis replied, and Magnus could’ve sworn he saw him roll his eyes as he clambered up onto Alec’s lap. Magnus wasn’t sure which shocked him more: that a Shadowhunter would choose to be in such close proximity to another, or that Alec seemed so unsurprised by it. Perhaps this was normal at such a young age, and the Shadowhunters Magnus had encountered in the centuries before had simply been to old to be allowed such indulgences?

“Luke,” Alec said, giving the kid’s shoulder a pat as he turned towards the werewolf, “do you have anything to report from the pack?”

“Yeah,” Luke replied, and Magnus didn’t miss the way he tossed the kid a wink before shifting into business mode.

 

“Well,” Magnus said, “Anis certainly seems to feel right at home here.”

Alec laughed, gaze flicking to where Anis stood, talking excitedly to the other Downworlders. Luke and Meliorn, at least, looked amused; Raphael looked vaguely irritated, but since that was essentially his default expression Magnus thought it best not to read too much into that. It was nearly nine o’clock, and the council had been adjourned for a good ten minutes, but no one had yet managed to leave.

“I think he’s enjoying having a new audience for his stories,” Alec said. He seemed pleased enough with the results of the meeting, but Magnus could see a hint of concern behind his eyes, as if he was worried Anis might be bothering his guests.

“I think you made the right choice, letting him stay.”

Startled, Alec turned to look at him, searching his face for a moment before he exhaled. “Thank you. I thought it might be good for him, to spend time among Downworlders in a…collaborative environment.”

Magnus smiled wanly. “Indoctrination always _has_ started young for Shadowhunters.”

Alec grimaced. “I know that some of the Shadowhunters still say things when I’m not around, and I thought he might be less likely to actually _believe_ the stuff those people spew if he actually _knew_ the people being maligned.”

Magnus nodded. “It’s worth a try.”

“Thank you for conjuring that gizmo for him, by the way,” Alec said.

“It was no trouble,” Magnus replied. It had seemed the obvious solution, when Anis had started fidgeting some twenty minutes after being seated, to conjure up a toy with enough moving parts to keep his hands occupied. He wasn’t sure which had made the gesture more worth it; the delight on Anis’s face when he’d offered him the toy, or the grateful look Alec had given him in return.

“Excuse me.” There was a gentle tug on Magnus’s pant leg, and he looked down to find a very curious pair of dark brown eyes gazing up at him. “Are you Magnus Bane?”

Startled to learn that a child this young already knew his full name, Magnus just blinked. “Yes.”

“Mr. Lightwood talks about you a lot,” Anis told him, his expression very serious, and Magnus couldn’t help but smile, warmth blossoming in his chest as he looked at Alec.

 

*

 

“Catarina’s been teaching me some new protection spells!” Madzie told Magnus, her pigtails bouncing slightly as she talked. It had been _months_ now since Catarina took her in, but Magnus still wasn’t over the way she’d blossomed away from Iris and Valentine’s influence. When he’d found her wandering the hallways of the Institute, he’d never imagined that she could grow into someone this happy, this _alive_ , in such a short span of time—and yet every time Magnus had seen her since then, her smile seemed to have grown a little more brilliant.

“That’s wonderful news, sweetpea,” he replied—but whatever he might’ve said next fell away when he heard the front door open. “Excuse me just a moment.”

Alec was hanging up his coat when Magnus found him in the entryway. He seemed distracted, as if he were still thinking about some Shadowhunter business, but the frown between his eyebrows disappeared when he saw Magnus. “Hey,” he murmured, the tension in his shoulders fading somewhat as he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Magnus’s lips.

“Hey,” Magnus echoed, letting his hand linger on Alec’s shoulder when they parted. “Madzie and Catarina are here.”

“Oh!” Alec’s eyes widened a little. “I’m not interrupting, am I? I meant to text you when I left the Institute, but I was a bit…preoccupied.”

“It’s fine,” Magnus assured him. Alec’s frown was back again. “More Clave trouble?”

Alec sighed. “I knew I was going to get some push-back, with all the reforms I’ve been pushing, but honestly I didn’t expect it to be this _constant._ ” He shook his head. “We can talk about that later, though. I—”

“Alec!” a small voice cried, and they turned to see Madzie standing on the threshold, Catarina leaning against the doorway just behind her.

“Madzie! Hey!” Alec grinned, crouching down to greet her as she ran over to him.

Smiling, Magnus moved to join Catarina in the doorway. For a moment they were silent, watching Alec and Madzie as they conferred in the entryway. There was something about seeing the two of them together that made a familiar warmth stir in Magnus’s chest. He’d never given much thought too fatherhood—it just hadn’t been something he’d thought was an option for him, for a whole host of reasons—but lately he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, one day…

“You know,” Catarina said, “I have a date next Saturday, if the two of you are up for some babysitting.”

Magnus blinked and turned to stare at her. “A _date_? How many centuries has it been since _you,_ my dear Catarina, had a _date_?”

Catarina rolled her eyes at him. “You and I both know it’s only been a few decades. And before you ask… _yes_ , you know her, and _no,_ I will not tell you who she is—yet. So, can you look after Madzie next Saturday?”

“We’d love to.”

Catarina smiled. “Good, because I’m not sure who else I’d trust with this. Besides,” she added, casting a shrewd look in his direction, “it might be good practice for the two of you.”

 

Alec was reading aloud from the book of fables Magnus had found on one of his dustier bookshelves, his voice quiet in the stillness of the bedroom. The beside lamp cast soft shadows over his face, while Madzie lay curled under the golden sheets beside him. Magnus could tell from the slow, steady way her chest rose and fell that she had been sleeping for a while now.

Alec looked up as he entered the room, the story fading on his lips. “Hey,” he murmured, smiling.

“Hey,” Magnus replied, voice hushed so as not to wake Madzie. “I made tea.”

“Impressive,” Alec said, looking around at the spotless countertops as he followed Magnus into the kitchen. “If I hadn’t been up to my elbows in cookie dough in here with you and Madzie just a few hours ago, I’d have no idea that anyone had been baking in here.”

The cookies had been Alec’s idea, and while Magnus was generally reluctant to cook anything that he could far more easily conjure, he had to admit that it had been fun. Still, the hands-on method was emphatically messier, and when Magnus had noticed Madzie starting to fade he’d been quick to suggest that Alec get her settled while he tidied up the kitchen. The only evidence that now remained of the evening’s activities were the gingerbread men that lay cooling on racks, waiting to be boxed up and sent home with Catarina.

“Magic helps,” Magnus said. “I imagine the batter that got smeared into the tea towels would have been rather annoying to deal with, otherwise.” He pulled two delicate, bone china teacups out of the cupboard and set them on the counter.

“I still can’t believe that Catarina wanted me to help you babysit Madzie.”

“Of course she did,” Magnus replied, his back to Alec as he poured out the tea. He moved slowly, deliberately, not wanting to spill anything. “She can see how much Madzie likes you, and as much as Catarina might protest me telling you this, I know for a fact that she likes you too.”

Behind him, Alec made a soft, skeptical noise and leaned against the counter. Magnus couldn’t blame him, really; Alec had wanted so _badly_ for Magnus’s best friend to like him, and yet Catarina was wary of Shadowhunters in the same way that Alec had once been wary of nearly everyone. She’d decided that Alec was alright after she saw how well he got along with Madzie, but she still made Alec nervous in a way few people could. It didn’t help that Catarina seemed to enjoy watching him squirm.

“She barely knows me,” Alec said.

“She knows you well enough to know that you wouldn’t let anything happen to Madzie.” He’d have to get the two of them better acquainted soon, he thought. Maybe he could even invite Simon and Maia along to help lighten the mood—but that was another matter for another day. Right now he had more important things to deal with. He took a deep breath and turned to face his boyfriend. “Besides,” Magnus said, trying to banish his nerves as he offered Alec one of the cups of tea, “you’re good with kids.”

Alec’s hazel eyes were focused, his expression intent as he looked at him. His fingers brushed against Magnus’s as he took the tea and said, “So are you. Getting to see you help Madzie practice her magic today…I felt really lucky.”

Magnus had seen it in his eyes then: awe mixed with a deep, unshakeable affection. For an instant, he’d seen the future in Alec’s face, and it had been both exhilarating and a bit terrifying.

He lowered himself onto one of the kitchen stools, resting his teacup against his thigh, the thumb of his free hand rubbing absently over his rings. He could feel Alec watching him as he took a seat beside him. There was so much Magnus wanted to ask, and yet he was afraid of pushing forward too fast, of asking too much too soon, of inadvertently urging Alec to agree to things that he might not have wanted on his own. He’d volunteered to clean the kitchen purely so he could prepare himself for this conversation, could think through what he wanted to say—if he wanted to say anything at all—and yet the words themselves were no less daunting now than they’d seemed when they first came to him three weeks ago. He took a breath and asked, "Have you ever thought about children?"

“Yes,” Alec said, with a certainty that told Magnus he was not the only one who’d been thinking about this lately. "I mean, for a long time it was just part of what was expected for me: become the head of an Institute, marry a woman, have kids… Honestly, back then I was too busy trying not to think about how I would survive marrying a woman to think too much about the actual kids.”

There was a bitter edge to his voice that reminded Magnus of all the choices that had been withheld from Alec for so long. He could feel the weight of over two decades worth of callous expectations hanging over them, and for a moment the familiar anger rose up in his chest. Then Alec exhaled, and the old pain faded from his eyes.

“But I’ve thought about it a bit, more recently." Alec hesitated, his cheeks coloring slightly. Then he added, "About what it might be like, with you."

Magnus could feel the tension in his chest ease at that. Perhaps, he thought, this conversation was not as premature as he’d feared it might be. “Lately, I have too.”

The way Alec smiled when he said it made all the nerves he’d felt leading up to this moment utterly worth it. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

For a moment they were silent, grinning at each other like fools as the delicate smell of jasmine tea wafted up from their teacups.

“I wanted to talk to you about this weeks ago,” Alec confessed, “but I wasn’t sure if it was too soon.”

“I wasn’t sure, either.”

Alec seemed to relax, at that. “I didn’t want you to feel like you had to say yes, if you _didn’t_ want kids. Because that would be fine, you know; I don’t _need_ kids. It was just really hard not to think about what it would be like to raise kids with you, when I saw how you are with Madzie.”

“I know what you mean,” Magnus said, smiling. “And for what it’s worth, I think you’ll make a wonderful father.”

Alec smiled back at him. “I think you’ll make a wonderful father, too.”

“So tell me, Alexander,” Magnus said, crossing his legs and arching an eyebrow at him as he lifted his cup from its saucer, “what do you think of when you picture our future children?”

“Oh, we’re having _multiple_ children, now, are we?” Alec replied, grinning.

Magnus just took a sip of his tea and waited.

“I don’t know,” Alec said, his expression thoughtful. “I guess I figured that when we're married, we'd adopt—”

There was a small clatter of porcelain against metal as Magnus almost dropped is teacup.

Alec blinked, brow furrowing as if he didn’t understand Magnus’s reaction, and then— “ _Oh._ ” Alec’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d said, his expression shifting rapidly through a series of emotions before settling into uncertainty. “Do you not want…? I mean, it’s OK if you don’t, I didn’t mean to assume—”

“Alexander,” Magnus interrupted, his heart in his throat, “of _course_ I want to marry you.”

“Oh,” Alec breathed.

“I was just…surprised.” Magnus said. He hesitated, then added quietly, “Nobody has ever wanted to marry _me_ before.”

Alec stared at him. “I find that very hard to believe.”

Magnus knew he was telling the truth; he could see the depth of feeling in his eyes, almost overwhelming to behold. He shrugged. “Well if they did, they never asked.”

For a moment, it was so quiet in the kitchen that you might’ve heard a pin drop.

“I do,” Alec whispered. “ _I_ want to. Not today, or tomorrow, but someday. I want to ask you to marry me.”

“I want you to,” Magnus breathed back, his throat thick with emotion. “One day, when we’re ready, I want you to be my husband.”

Silently, Alec offered him his hand. Magnus took it, intertwining their fingers until he could feel Alec’s palm beneath his own. Alec took a deep, shuddering breath and smiled. “One day,” he promised. “We’re going to make great dads.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, folks! I hope you enjoyed it! If you have something in mind that you'd like to see me write, please feel free to [send me a request](http://boyalecsgay.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr!


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